The disbelievers (1) then subjected him to severe harm. Shortly afterwards, Khadīja died, and their persecution of him intensified. He therefore set out for Tā’if with Zayd ibn Hāritha, calling people to Allah. He stayed there for several days, but they did not respond to his call. They mistreated him, drove him out, and stood in two rows on either side of him, pelting him with stones until his heels bled. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then left them and headed back to Mecca.
On his journey, he met ‘Addās the Christian, who believed in him and affirmed his truthfulness. Also on his journey, at Nakhla, a group of seven jinn from Nasībīn were directed to him. They listened to the Quran and embraced Islam.
During that journey, Allah sent him the angel of the mountains, instructing the angel to obey him and, if he wished, to close the two Akhshab mountains of Mecca—its two mountains—over his people. He replied: “Rather, I will give them time; perhaps Allah will bring forth from their descendants those who worship Him without associating anything with Him.” (2)
On his journey, he offered the well-known supplication: “O Allah, to You I complain of my lack of strength (3) …” (4), and the rest of the hadith. He then entered Mecca under the protection of al-Mut‘im ibn ‘Adī.
(1) مب reads: “The disbelievers inflicted harm upon him.”
(2) Recorded by al-Bukhārī (3231), Muslim (1795), and others from ‘Ā’isha, may Allah be pleased with her, with the wording: “Rather, I hope that Allah will bring forth from …” The wording “Rather, I will give them time” occurs in a different report from ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abbās, concerning the people of Mecca asking that al-Safā be turned into gold and the mountains moved away so that they could cultivate the land. It was recorded by Ahmad (2333), al-Bazzār (2225, Kashf al-Astār), and al-Nasā’ī in al-Sunan al-Kubrā (11266). Al-Hākim graded it authentic (2/362), and al-Diyā’ included it in his selected collection (10/79–80).
(3) ك، ع، مب، ن add: “and my lack of resourcefulness.”
(4) Ibn Ishāq (1/420, Sīrat Ibn Hishām) narrated it from Yazīd ibn Ziyād, from Muhammad ibn Ka‘b al-Qurazī, as a mursal report. It was also narrated from ‘Abd Allāh ibn Ja‘far ibn Abī Tālib by Ibn ‘Adī in al-Kāmil, in the entry on Muhammad ibn Ishāq ibn Yasār (9/46); al-Tabarānī in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabīr (13/73; 14/139–140) and al-Du‘ā’ (1036); and al-Diyā’ al-Maqdisī (9/181). Its narrators are trustworthy, although Muhammad ibn Ishāq transmitted it using ‘an (“from”), without explicitly stating that he heard it directly. See also al-Silsila al-Da‘īfa (2933). It will appear again in full (3/39).